


Number One with a Bullet

by Onlymystory



Series: The Badass Background of one Evan Buckley [4]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV), Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: BAMF!Buck, BAMF!eddie, Buckley-Diaz family, Established Relationship, Found Family, Getting Together, Hostage Situations, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Protective Evan "Buck" Buckley, U.S. Navy SEAL Evan "Buck" Buckley, for buddie, for mcdanno
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:53:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23570368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onlymystory/pseuds/Onlymystory
Summary: When Eddie is kidnapped on a Buckley-Diaz vacation in Hawaii, Buck will need the help of an old Navy SEAL friend, one Steve McGarrett, to find him.Or 9-1-1 meets Hawaii Five-0.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Series: The Badass Background of one Evan Buckley [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1672339
Comments: 32
Kudos: 588





	Number One with a Bullet

**Author's Note:**

> In this sort of general fusion of worlds, I would say we’re emotionally/case-wise somewhere around S4-5 of Hawaii Five-0, and well past canon for 9-1-1. Imagine a world where they co-exist along the same timeline. Wibbly wobbly timey wimey and all that rot.   
> I would say this is a fairly equal fusion fic, with a Buck perspective. Also to Hawaii Five-0 readers, I did my best to keep the team as competent and badass as they always are, but I did kind of write this for Buck to shine, so sorry if it seems like the Five-0 team should contribute more.   
> If you want to come talk to me about fandom (pls no H50 spoilers, I’m only up thru S5), I’m @onlymystory on twitter.

Hawaii is supposed to be relaxing. At least, insofar as Buck understands. All of the websites and brochures tout gorgeous beaches, a plethora of drinks and food, and even plenty of non-oceanic activity. It took over a year for Buck and Christopher to be comfortable even going to the beach, let alone getting back in the water. Honestly, Buck thinks Christopher healed first, because he wanted to take a chance on the beach a lot earlier than Buck was ready to.

But they made it. They made it through hostage situations and bomb scares and earthquakes and all the other nonsense that LA likes to throw at them.

More impressively, they made it through Eddie second-guessing half the steps in their relationship, because he doesn’t like to believe he can have nice things. 

It’s ridiculous in Buck’s opinion. One because Eddie deserves nice things and two because Buck isn’t all that nice. 

But with some clever maneuvering on his part, some downright deviousness on Chris’s, and a fair number of very convincing blowjobs, Eddie’s his. Married. Geez, thinks Buck. It’s been four months and the fact that he gets to call Eddie Diaz his husband is still amazing. 

Anyway, the point is, they were in Hawaii to relax. Christopher has come into his own in the last couple years, life at the 118 has settled a bit. When the opportunity to take a vacation came up, they jumped at it. Except now Buck is scared and angry, holding tight to his son, as the police ask him when he first noticed his husband was missing. 

“Ten minutes before I called you,” Buck snaps. “It’s like I said. We went to get a snack and when we came back, my husband was gone. All of our stuff was still here, including his phone. He wouldn’t just leave without telling me, so I started looking for him and asking around.”

He gestures at the couple talking to another officer. They had informed Buck that some guy walked up to Eddie, bent down and talked to him for a second, and then they left together. 

“That’s when I called you,” he continues. “While you were on your way, I got that text.” He doesn’t describe it out loud, not wanting to scare Christopher any more than he has to. The photo had shown an unconscious Eddie in the back of a van. It takes a lot to get the drop on Eddie, so Buck’s pretty sure there were guns involved. And it has to be premeditated. Compared to so many others on the beach, they don’t scream wealthy tourists. 

“You’re sure you don’t know anyone here, sir?” asks the officer. “Someone he might have stepped away to visit with or have a reason to follow?”

“Eddie doesn’t know anyone here,” says Buck, though that reminds him. “But I do. Call Steve McGarrett.”

The officer talking with the couple--an Officer Lukela--looks over at them. The officer in front of Buck is shaking his head. “Mr. Diaz…”

“Buckley-Diaz,” interrupts Christopher.

“Mr. Buckley-Diaz, I can’t ask Five-0 to step in on a missing person’s case. The governor makes the call on what cases they’re assigned to.”

“Then call the governor,” says Buck, his voice like brittle iron. 

“I promise we’ll have our best officers working on this, sir. We’ll find your husband.”

“I don’t want just anyone,” demands Buck, pulling Christopher in tighter as he yells and shoves his fear down in a tiny little box at the back corner of his mind. “You get Steve McGarrett down here and you get him here now!” 

* * *

He’s not really sure how long he’s been yelling, but somehow there’s now a short blond man standing in front of him, telling Buck to calm down, please sir.

“Calm?” snaps Buck, livid. It’s a damn good thing his hands are busy holding tight to Christopher, or we would punch this guy so hard. “I asked for Steve McGarrett, who the hell are you?”

“Okay, look buddy, I’m Danny Williams,” says Danny. “I’m a member of the Five-0 task force and you can talk to me, but you need to settle down for a minute. Think about your kid.”

“I’m fine. Where’s my dad?” Christopher glares at Danny, which admittedly doesn’t have a great effect considering Chris pretty much always looks like the sweetest kid you’ll ever meet. 

There’s something prickling in the back of Buck’s mind, telling him he knows that name, has heard of someone named Danny before, but he’s so zoned in on finding Eddie, nothing else really tracks. He takes his phone out and calls Steve himself, putting a finger up to silence the other Five-0 guy. Danny clearly takes offense to that and starts ranting at him. Buck tunes him out.

The line rings twice before Steve picks up. “Buck?”

“Where the hell are you?”

“Excuse me?”

“I asked for Steve McGarrett and the police sent some guy named Danny Williams down here. My husband has been kidnapped, Steven. I want the best.” Buck does everything in his power not to crush the phone in his hand as he talks. It’s not like that will do any good. Also he should probably keep it slightly together for his kid. 

Steve’s voice comes over the line. “Gimme just a second, Buck.” The call ends.

Danny’s phone rings, to which he answers and glances up at Buck a couple times in confusion first, followed by a dawning awareness. He hangs up and turns back to Buck. “Sorry, so Steve says you’re the Buck he went to LA for a couple years back and if you will come with me, we will let the police gather their evidence and take witness statements.”

“And we’re going to?”

“Five-0 offices at the Palace. We can get more done with our resources there. Plus I kind of want to see Steve in the same room with a former SEAL that he apparently likes and trusts, because I have yet to meet one of those,” continues Danny. 

“We were on the same team.”

“SEAL team?” asks Danny. “Now there’s a kick. You’re the first from his actual team to come here.”

Buck shrugs. “Not all of us are inactive. Elliott stays pretty busy. Barnes is usually off in a whole other world.”

“Any good stories about Steve?” asks Danny.

“That’s classified, Mr. Williams.”

“Of course it is,” says Danny, talking over the last half of the sentence. “Everything’s classified with you assholes. Like I can’t read between the lines. Every one of you is just alike. And it’s Detective Williams. I may not go jumping out of planes like an absolute lunatic, but I earned my title all the same.”

“I apologize, Detective. You’re Five-0, I should have assumed the title by default.”

“Well, you do have other things to worry about,” mutters Danny, “so I suppose I can let it go.”

Buck notes that Danny’s impressive, because as he’s talking, he’s managed to get Christopher to eat something, gather up their personal items, and steer them both around the beach and to a black Camaro. They get in and Danny pulls out and takes them to the Five-0 offices. 

Once there, they’re met first by a woman with a British accent out front. She introduces herself as Rachel --apparently Danny’s ex-wife--and Danny says if Christopher’s willing, he can go with her. Explains his daughter will be there and that they have full security as well as an HPD unit will be put on the house. Steve had suggested somewhere for Christopher to go during their call so that Buck could put his focus on finding Eddie. 

“Are you okay with that?” asks Buck, turning to Christopher. If his son needs him, Buck will figure out how to do both, how to turn off part of his training, and be the comfort Chris needs. 

Chris nods, though he looks unsure. 

“Really, bud?” asks Buck again. “If you don’t want to go, you can stay with me, it’s okay.”

“You’re going to be like when those bad guys came to the Science Center, right?” questions Christopher. 

“Not if you don’t want me to.”

“You have to, Bucky. I want you to find Dad.”

“You’re sure?”

Christopher nods his head again. “You were really brave and kind of scary that day. Daddy needs you to be scary so you can get him from the bad guys.”

Buck bends down and squeezes the hell out of his kid. “You are the bravest kid I know, Christopher Buckley-Diaz. If you need me, for anything, you call, okay?”

“Okay, Bucky.”

Buck straightens. “Thank you, Rachel. He doesn’t have any allergies, medications are in this bag. If the stress gets to be too much, “Into the Spiderverse” is a good movie choice, or if you’ve got Legos lying around, that helps focus Chris. Please let me know if you need anything.”

“Of course,” says Rachel. “When this is all over, I look forward to being able to actually visit with you.” She guides Christopher away to her car and Buck stands and watches alongside Danny until they’re driving away. 

It hurts to let his son go like that, especially with Eddie missing, but they’re all right. He needs to be able to zone in to find his husband, and knowing Christopher is safe allows him to do that. “Let’s go,” he says to Danny and follows the man into the Palace.

* * *

When they walk into the center of the offices, Danny walks around to take a look at the computer. As he passes Steve, his hand brushes across Steve’s arm, then pats his back in an automatic doesn’t even realize he’s doing it kind of way. “Your mini-me is a lot to take in, babe,” he says.

Buck’s momentarily distracted. “Oh my god, you’re Danny.”

“I think we’ve established that.”

“No, no, I mean like Danny. The Danny. Danno.”   
Danny frowns. “There are only two people in this world who get to call me Danno. My daughter, who has my permission, and Steve who just ignores any rule I set down in front of him. You do not get that privilege.” He turns on Steve. “And you, you’re just introducing me to people as Danno? What the hell, Steven?”

Steve shakes his head and Buck hurries to correct. “No, no, sorry, he just talks about you a lot.”

Steve blushes bright red. 

Danny gives a curious look that Buck takes note of. “Huh,” is all the detective says.

“Um, this is Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly,” interrupts Steve, introducing the rest of the team. “Captain Lou Grover and Officer Kono Kalakaua.” 

“Nice to meet you,” says Buck. “So, let’s get down to business and find my husband.”

The opening bars of “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” absolutely do not go through his mind as he says it.

Kono swipes across the table and pulls several video images up on the screens around them. “The beach you were on doesn’t have any video surveillance over the area you were at, probably why it was used by our kidnapper, but most of the businesses along the beach do, so I was able to find a short clip that caught a decent view of them getting into the van.”

The clip she shows makes it clear that the man behind Eddie has a gun to his back, further evidenced by the way he uses it to club Eddie in the back of the head before throwing him in the back of the van. There’s no good view of the man’s face, nor are they able to get plates, but it is at least something.

Kono continues. “Now, the interesting thing is that the same van is parked two beaches down about an hour before he gets to yours. And earlier this morning, he’s at another beach within a mile. All private beaches. It’s like he was seeking out an opportunity. No plates in either of these videos either and the back of the van is better hidden than when he took Eddie.”

“But why us?” asks Buck. “We both work as first responders, we’re in no way the type to have money or access to money for a ransom.”

“It’s possible this guy isn’t after money at all,” suggests Grover. “We might consider the connection you and Steve have. Perhaps someone from an old mission.”

“That’s not possible,” states Steve.

“Well now, you don’t know that,” starts Lou. 

“Oh no, we do,” corrects Buck. “It would be a loose end and we don’t leave loose ends.”

He ignores the curious and slightly nervous looks he gets. “What about the van? Any chance of finding anything from tire tracks, tracing the style of van, seeing if it’s a rental or recently purchased?”

“Already on it,” answers Kono.

Chin had stepped to the side when his phone rang and he rejoins the group now with a slight frown on his face. “I just got off the phone with HPD. Apparently two other men were just reported missing by their families. One was touring the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, another had gone out surfing by himself this morning.”

“Then let’s go talk to the families,” says Buck, ready to get going.

“Now hold on,” says Grover. “We will go talk to the families and update you.”

“I’m not just going to sit around while my husband’s in danger.”

“You’re also not going along as a civilian on a police investigation,” orders the captain.

Buck slams a hand on the table. “Enough. Either deputize me or get the hell out of my way. I’m finding my husband.”

“Or maybe we could just put you in a holding cell so you can cool down,” says Grover.

Steve shakes his head. “Buck would escape from there before you could get back down the hall. It’s annoying right now, but his escape skills make mine look like a fresh-faced kid out of basic.”

“You’re too modest,” says Buck, an involuntary puckish grin on his face. “At least you still got me beat on hand to hand combat.”

“Oh sweet merciful Springsteen there’s two of them,” says Danny, throwing his hands up in an exasperated motion. 

“Knock him out?” suggest Kono. Her smile says it’s a joke, but Buck can see the look in her eye says she’ll try it if Steve gives the okay. Steve won’t. Barnes and John are the only ones skilled enough to knock out any of their team without causing a shitton of damage to themselves and the surrounding area. Buck doesn’t doubt that if needed, Kono Kalakaua could pull it off, but she’d be hurting at the end too, and Steve knows it.

He ignores her and turns to Danny instead. “There’s actually six of us,” he says. “Steve’s one of the least crazy among us.”

Steve passes Buck a badge. “Here, dipshit. You’re now deputized. I’m not going to put you on the sidelines for this. Chin, Grover, you two go talk to the families, see if they’ve received any ransom demands. Keep us updated.”

Danny’s still gaping. “I’m sorry, it sounded like a minute ago that you said Steve is the least crazy and that can’t possibly be true, because I have worked with this man for several years now and crazy is pretty much the only word in his vocabulary. With the possible exception of bulletproof, which does not mean what he thinks it means.”

Buck clips the badge on his jeans. “I mean, he’s crazier than Chavez and Elliott. But that’s because Elliott’s just too good at fucking everything to really be crazy.”

Steve’s nodding. It’s a pure fact. Also annoying as shit because Elliott never lets any of them forget it.

“And Ding, that’s Domingo Chavez, he’s just like the most chill motherfucker you’ll ever meet. Definitely not crazy,” continues Buck. “So Steve beats them. But like, John is like the human definition of a redacted file and Bucky’s a special breed all on his own.”

“What kind of crazy are you?” asks Grover.

Buck shrugs. “I’m usually pretty chill overall.”

“Unless someone comes after your family,” interjects Steve.

“Then what are you?” questions Grover again.

Buck’s eyes darken. His voice grows cold as he replies. “Vengeful.”

* * *

Kono gets the information about the two men taken from HPD while Chin and Grover are out talking to the families.

“It looks like one of these guys fits the early morning beach stop,” notes Danny, as Kono goes over where the family was staying and the timeline of events as they knew it. 

“Gabriel Marcus.” Buck reads over the list of info about the man. Here with his family on vacation, just arrived yesterday, same as him. Nothing in his financials or an initial background search to suggest he’d be a target. He keeps scanning. “Wait.”   
“You got something?” asks Steve.

“Maybe,” replies Buck, frowning. It’s just a hunch, but then, he knows better than to ignore those. “Kono, can you pull up the info on our other guy?”

“Andrew Watson,” reads Kono, moving the info to the adjacent screen. 

And there it is. A simple, easy to miss detail, but a factor for all three victims. “Silver Stars. Both of these men were in the United States Army and both have a Silver Star Medal on their uniform,” says Buck.

Steve looks uncertain. “I’m not saying the army isn’t a connection, but that’s a pretty specific thing.”

“Eddie’s also a Silver Star recipient,” he adds. “He did two tours in Iraq as a combat medic and was awarded his during his first tour for saving his convoy. Eddie was always particularly proud that he did it, they killed the insurgents who attacked, but were able to save all of the women and children nearby.”

Danny steps closer. “Steve. Both Marcus and Watson were combat medics. Both in Iraq. Looks like not too far from each other if I know my geography.”

“That has to be it,” says Buck firmly. “That’s our connection.”

“I’m with you on this,” interrupts Kono. “But how does this kidnapper somehow manage to know that three Army combat medics, all of whom have been awarded the Silver Star, will be in Hawaii on the same day?”

Buck pales. “Because we didn’t plan our trip.”

“What?”

“We won the trip. An anonymous donor wanted to do something nice, supposedly, for the members of LAFD. So everyone from all the stations entered to win a drawing for a trip to Hawaii. Eddie was ecstatic when we won.”

“There’d be no reason to question it.” Danny’s face looks like he’s putting the pieces together as fast as Buck is. “This guy gets all the entries, selects his target, but no one’s going to think it’s fixed.”

“Kono…” starts Steve.

“Way ahead of you, boss,” she answers, typing quickly on the computer. “Gabriel’s wife posted on her facebook page about winning the sweepstakes after entering at a local community fair. Looks like Andrew Watson is also a first responder, working out of St. Paul, and he was the winner of a trip gifted to the city’s firefighter and paramedic staff. “

“Okay, so he definitely targeted these three. But why? Why focus on decorated veterans?” Danny looks thoroughly annoyed at the kidnapper’s selection process and methods. “In the nicest way possible, Buck, nothing about any of these three guys says here’s a primary target. The money isn’t there and all three are Army medics. That’s not exactly a super high profile position.”

“Kono, see if you can pull up any news articles or briefings about why these other two received their medals,” directs Steve.

Buck stops her. “No. Steve and I can get better info on those details on our own. Whoever this is, he’s making a statement here. We need to know if any other medics arrived on the island in the last three days and where they are.”

“I’ll get on the phone with TSA,” offers Danny, already moving. 

Buck nods and focuses on Kono. “I’m betting the trip donor was anonymous in St. Paul, but this community fair should have a registration of all the booths. See if you can figure out which one had the giveaway. And cross-reference social…”

“Media,” finishes Kono. “See if anyone posted something from the fair that might give us a lead on who this guy is.”

* * *

It takes them several hours to put it all together, hours that threaten to overwhelm Buck with how worried he is about Eddie. Every time the fear seems like it’s too much, Buck steps away and just tries to breathe. Danny joins him every so often. Doesn’t say much, just sits next to him in commiserate silence. From conversations with Steve, Buck knows that Danny’s been through a family kidnapping with his daughter, and understands that wavering of emotions between angry, determined to find answers, and mind-numbing terror that he’ll lose everything. 

But overall, the pieces come together. 

Two other combat medics, both Silver Star recipients, both winners of a trip to Hawaii, arrived within the last day. 

Neither had family and so no one had reported them as missing. 

One, a Mike Taylor, is dead in his hotel room. There’s obvious signs of a struggle and as best they can piece together, Taylor fought back to the point that their kidnapper decided it wasn’t worth the effort and killed him rather than take him along. 

The other, Alexis Jones, is unaccounted for. 

All five were stationed and operated within the same two hundred square mile radius in Iraq, all in significantly hard-hit areas of the country as well.

The problem is that every new lead turns up a dead end. And tracking down each lead takes time. Buck’s consistently impressed with the Five-0 team though. The level of competency is probably Athena’s wet dream. And then Buck immediately gags and cringes at his brain putting those three words together. 

Steve drags him to his place to sleep at some point in the night. Buck fights him tooth and nail, arguing that he’s already talked to Christopher and that his son is counting on him to find his dad. He can’t waste time. Steve ignores that, points out exactly what Buck already knows. If he doesn’t recharge, he’ll be of no use actually fighting the guy. 

Neither of them bring up the biggest concern that both of them see, that Buck’s pretty sure all of Five-0 sees. Other than the initial texts that each family received that showed the unconscious state of each victim, there’s been no further contact. 

No ransom demands. 

No demands for the release of political prisoners or money or guns or a way off the island. 

Nothing but radio silence.

Buck, like Steve, is very familiar with what that means. Whoever this guy is, he wants to make a statement. 

* * *

In the morning, it’s clearly stumping all of them. 

“We need a reason,” says Danny, voicing the problem they’re all thinking. “Something to clue us into why this guy is doing this.”

“We know it’s not money or anything related,” says Chin. “We’d have received contact by now if it was.”

“Which makes it a statement,” says Buck. 

“He feels wronged,” suggests Danny. “A disgruntled soldier or medic himself maybe?”

Kono shakes her head. “Negative. We ran all passengers in the last week through TSA. No other former combat medics have come through. I also checked if any other soldiers came through. Any who did are all accounted for and HPD sent units to each to insure that they’re aware of a potential threat.”

Danny sighs, exasperated. “I really liked the revenge theory.”

Buck pauses. “Revenge?”

Chin stops him. “It doesn’t work when our kidnapper wasn’t military.”

“He’s not,” says Buck, his mind quickly working it out. “But he doesn’t have to be. Eddie and the other four were all awarded their Silver Star medals for actions within the same eighteen month period. Get me a complete list of combat medics that were in that region during the same period and cross reference that with a list of servicemen and women who were killed in that period.”

“You think they lost someone?” asks Lou. 

“And they’re blaming the ones still alive.”

* * *

Buck’s right. A Paul Hartman was married to Elaine, an Army combat medic killed in the line of duty.

When they keep digging, they find plenty of forum and social media posts from Paul, blaming the soldiers around her for not taking out the threats, all the threats. The guy has clearly lost it. It’s possible, thinks Buck quietly, that this guy was always an extremist, someone who only looked at the world from a very racist perspective. From what they can find, he’d married quickly and she’d been sent off, without much time for them to spend together. If she hadn’t been KIA, Buck doubts the marriage would have lasted.

But that’s neither here nor there. Hartman wants revenge so he says. He believes by not killing every local, his wife was put in danger. It’s despicably wrong, though clearly Hartman is well past believing that. 

By piecing a story together, it becomes clear that the four kidnapped soldiers and the one he killed, were all working in the same region as his wife, all had been awarded the Silver Star medal for actions within fifty miles of the spot of her death. Twisted as Hartman’s mind may have been about the entire situation, the reality was clear. He wanted revenge.

“Hartman landed four days ago,” says Chin, combing through information on the smart table.

“Obviously he wants to make a statement,” says Steve. “The question is where. What has the biggest impact?”

“One of the memorials?” suggests Lou.

Danny shakes his head. “Pearl Harbor’s out, there’s no way this guy’s going to get four kidnapping victims aboard and hidden out there. I suppose it’s not impossible to consider the Battleship Missouri Memorial, but that seems unlikely too. There’s way too many people.”

“I agree with Danny,” says Buck. “Hartman needs to be able to pull this off while in a public setting, to prove his point about his wife’s unnecessary sacrifice. According to him,” he amends at the last.

“The Hill of Sacrifice,” say Kono and Steve at the same time.

Buck raises an eyebrow in question.

“The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific,” answers Steve. “Also known as Punchbowl, Puowaina, or the Hill of Sacrifice. Hartman would have a lot easier time setting something up there, than any of the other memorials.”

“There’s a lot of places to hide several people in this area,” says Chin with a frown as he explores the map.

“Here,” says Kono. “Hartman didn’t go dark until the night before the kidnappings started. His first day on the island, his GPS tracks him at the cemetery multiple times and a couple of trips to a house up near Manoa Falls Trail.”

“His hideout?” asks Danny.

“No, it looks like the house is owned by a local, with a record of drug trafficking and arms dealing. I’m guessing that’s where Hartman went to get his guns.”

“Then let’s go pay this guy a visit.”

* * *

Finally, finally, they catch a break. The weapons dealer cracks under the pressure--well, doesn’t so much crack as is completely terrified after Buck demonstrates his particular set of skills--and reveals that yes, Hartman had bought weapons from him. 

More importantly, he has video surveillance on his property and they’re able to get the license plate from the van Hartman was driving. 

Kono’s tracking it now.

“You’re kind of terrifying,” comments Danny as they pass their perp on to HPD for processing. 

Buck never did catch the guy’s name. “Oh come on,” protests Buck while they wait for Kono’s intel. “You can’t work with Steve and say I’m terrifying.”

“Steve is reckless,” insists Danny. “No concept of wait for back-up and leaps off of rooftops and generally gives me a heart attack every damn day.”

“You’re always behind me,” pouts Steve, wearing that grumpy puppy dog face that used to let him get away with murder until they all built up an immunity to it. 

“Of course I’m behind you, babe, I’ll always be your back-up.”

Steve smiles all soft and Danny fidgets and Buck does his best not to roll his eyes, because wow.

“Okay, so see, equally terrifying,” he says as a distraction.

“No, reckless is not terrifying. There was nothing reckless about your actions. I’ve seen cold blooded in my time, but jesus Buckley.”

Buck’s smile is just a bit feral. “That man helped Paul Hartman kidnap my husband. You don’t mess with my family.”

Danny gives him a long gauging look, then nods. “Yeah, I can get that.”

A few minutes later, Kono calls. They have a location.

* * *

A house just a couple blocks away from the cemetery has Hartman’s rented van parked under the carport. 

No sign of movement in the house, but the use of heat signature sensory devices reveals multiple bodies in the basement.

With the perimeter surrounded by HPD units, Kono, Danny, Steve, and Buck begin making their way towards the front door. They’re all wearing tactical vests and heavily armed. Thanks to the specific set of rules that Five-0 operates under, they are authorized to use deadly force as necessary. 

“Heat sensors register movement on the basement staircase,” says Chin over the radios. He and Lou are back with the rest of HPD, ready to provide cover fire if needed.

“Let’s move,” commands Steve. 

They’re storming forward just as Eddie stumbles his way out the front door, one man slung over his shoulder. Alexis Jones follows close behind, with what looks like Andrew Watson leaning against her, limping and his arm hanging like it’s broken. 

“Eddie!” yells Buck, running to his husband. 

Eddie stops, starts lifting Marcus from his shoulder. “He needs a hospital, right away. A lot of blood loss, severe concussion, and there are several lacerations across his chest that came way too close.”

“Got it, updating the paramedics now,” replies Steve. His gun is still up as Kono and Danny help take over carrying Marcus. “What about Hartman?”

Eddie looks confused.

“The kidnapper,” clarifies Buck.

“Oh. Very, very dead,” answers Eddie.

“We made sure,” echoes Alexis from where she’s slowly sitting on a stretcher the paramedics have wheeled over.

“That must have been one hell of a fight,” says Steve. He must look a little judgy about it, because Andrew, Alexis, and Eddie all glare at him.

Eddie spits blood, looking remarkably like he finished a mission with Buck and says “Not like you get a monopoly on badass moves, Navy boy. Hooah.”

Buck laughs, kind of hysterically, and helps get the three men to the paramedics. If he’s ridiculously turned on by his husband right now, well, he has every right. 

* * *

Buck takes Eddie back to the Iolani Palace once he’s done giving his statement. They’d been right about Hartman. His plan had been to use the cemetery, killing the former soldiers that night so they’d be found in the morning. It would’ve been May 1st, the official observance date for Silver Star recipients. 

Hartman clearly didn’t know much about the military, even from his wife, and hadn’t left them properly drugged. Marcus had deliberately pissed him off, said things that convinced Hartman to drag him upstairs for a beating. With the chance to get themselves free without eyes on them, the other three had worked their way out of the cuffs. Marcus was nearly unconscious by the time he was tossed back down the stairs, and Hartman definitely got several good swings in and a shot that ended up being a through and through on Andrew’s leg. 

But they ultimately got to the gun first, emptying the remaining bullets into Hartman’s chest. 

Eddie gives Buck a confused and concerned look when they arrive and he looks around, clearly searching for Christopher.

“He’s at Danny’s ex-wife’s,” answers Buck to the unspoken question. 

“Then why are we here?”

Buck steers Eddie inside and down the stairs. “This is Five-0 headquarters and they have showers. Steve was kind enough to go get us some fresh clothes from the hotel room. I thought we should get cleaned up first.”

“I want to see Christopher,” protests Eddie. The brokenness in his tone breaks Buck’s heart. There were more than a few moments in the last two days that he wondered if he’d ever see his husband again. For now though, he keeps steering them. 

“I know, carino, I know,” he answers. “But we don’t look so great right now. I called Christopher, told him you were okay and we’d be over to pick him up soon. He’s been so scared, us covered in blood is going to scare him more.” In addition to that reasoning, Buck also figures once they’re all back together and safe in their hotel room, it’ll be a good thing if they don’t have to worry about showers or anything else. Danny had offered to pick up a couple different options for dinner and leave it in their room, so that once home, they could take comfort in each other as a family.

Buck leads Eddie downstairs. Slowly helps him undress before doing the same with his own clothes, then leads them under the spray. 

He takes his time gently scrubbing the blood and dirt off his husband, then washes Eddie’s hair, getting out all of the sand and grime. It’s never about anything sexual, just taking care of the man he loves. Buck presses tiny kisses along Eddie’s skin as he goes, little touches that seem to calm Eddie down and keep him grounded. 

When Buck’s satisfied that the horrors of the last two days have at least been physically washed away, he turns the water off.

“Hey,” whispers Eddie once they’re dressed and ready to leave. 

“Yeah Eds,” replies Buck.

“I love the hell out of you,” says Eddie, pulling Buck down to him and pressing a soft, tender kiss to his lips. 

“I love you too. And I will always, always find you, no matter where you are.”

“I”ll always come back to you,” comes Eddie’s answer. 

It’s a promise they’ve made before. It’s a promise they keep. Sealed with a kiss.

* * *

Buck’s drinking with Steve on the edge of the beach at the end of the following day. The Five-0 crew and their family, as well as several others, are gathered at Steve’s house. There’s music going, laughter, and the smell of good food. It reminds Buck of the many gatherings his own family holds in Los Angeles. “You did good man,” says Buck, clinking his beer against Steve’s. “If I didn’t have such a good family back home, I’d be jealous of what you’ve built here.”

“They’re good people,” replies Steve. 

“So are you.”

Steve shrugs. 

“Hey now, none of that.” Buck cuts off any additional protests. “Who we were is not who we are. You taught me that, you damn well better believe it. These people love you. You’re very lucky, Steve.”

“Yeah, I am lucky.” Buck watches as Steve’s eyes gravitate towards Danny as he says the words. It seems fondness and Danny go hand in hand. 

“You know, some things are worth taking a chance on.”

Steve tenses. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Buck snorts. “Don’t lie to your brother, it’s unbecoming.”

“I can’t,” protests Steve. “What if it ends badly?”

“What if it doesn’t?” returns Buck. “You’ve always been the guy who needed to know the mission outcome before you went on it. Good or bad, what’s the end result. Sometimes you gotta stop being afraid of not knowing how a mission might end. Take a chance, Steve.”

“I can’t seem to stop worrying that he won’t feel the same way. Or that Danny’ll run once he gets a chance to know the real me.”

“That’s a guy who knows you,” says Buck, doing his best not to overreact to the stupid idea that Danny doesn’t already know exactly who Steve is. One of these two has been pining and the other has clearly been waiting for said pining fool to get his head out of his ass and Danny Williams is definitely not the first guy. “The real you, from what you’ve told me and more importantly from what I can see. He flies across the world to find you without blinking. But Steve, what really matters, is that the two of you have that bond that tells you when something’s wrong with each other. Take it from someone who spent way too long second-guessing, that’s a guy who’s worth the risk.”

“You think so, kid?” asks Steve. He’s got that voice that he uses when he wants to see wise and big-brotherly, but in reality needs the advice of his friends. 

“I do,” replies Buck. “Besides, who’s gonna judge you? Most of your former team ended up married to dudes.”

Steve laughs, low and genuine. “You know what? You’re right. Hold my beer.”

Buck accepts the beer, taking a deep swig off his own. He breaks into a bright smile as he watches Steve walk back across the yard and step right up to Danny. 

“Danny Williams. You are the single most infuriating person I have met,” begins Steve. “And I’ve been in love with you for a very long time.” He leans down and kisses Danny, square on the mouth, to the instant applause of everyone around them.

When Steve pulls back, Danny gently slaps him on the chest. “Seriously. Just like that, you’re going to announce that in front of everyone. You drive my car, I practically live at your house, we have basically been married for years and you act like you’re the one making the big romantic gesture? You’re an animal, an absolute animal.” 

But he’s also wrapping his arms around Steve’s neck and pulling him back down to him and the last few words are kind of muffled against Steve’s lips, so it seems like he’s pretty okay with the proceedings after all.

“Nicely done,” says Eddie softly, slipping up next to Buck and putting an arm around him. 

Buck turns his head to catch Eddie with a gentle kiss. “He just needed a push in the right direction.”

Danny yells from the porch. “Okay, um, can we cancel this party, actually?” 

He’s drowned out instantly by a chorus of laughter and mockery. 

Buck can barely hear the muttered “damnit.”

Next to him, Eddie laughs. “Wanna go save the day one more time?”

Buck snickers and they make their way through the group to offer congratulations. “You know,” drawls Buck. “As firefighters, we’re better cooks than most. So why don’t you let us take care of the food, we’ll turn the music up a little, and see you two when it’s ready. In like 25, 30 minutes.”

“Seriously?” asks Steve.

“I mean, if you want to stay out here…” says Buck, his voice trailing away.

“No, no we do not,” snaps Danny. “Thank you, Buck, you are a smart, brilliant man, and I still find it difficult to believe that you worked with Steve given your safety first mentality while being quite the badass, but yes, we will take you up on that offer. Feel free to make our food last, maybe even enjoy your dinner before you bother throwing ours on the grill, let’s go Steve.”

Eddie leans in before they leave. “Hey Danny, friendly reminder that even former SEALs can hold their breath for a very long time.”

“Jesus, that is actually the kind of information I need, thank you, Eddie,” says Danny. 

The look on Steve’s face makes Buck want to crack up laughing. One because it says he just got issued a challenge that he is very up for (pun fully intended) and because Buck reacted the exact same way the first time Eddie asked him if he wanted to test his abilities. 

While they disappear, Buck takes on the job of cooking. Eddie occasionally tilts up a beer for him to drink and steals kisses in between. They watch the night sky dance across the ocean, listen to their son’s laughter fill the air, and take comfort in the knowledge that as long as they have each other, all's right with the world. 

**Author's Note:**

> Nothing like getting hooked back into H50 fandom. I can't believe it's been five years since I last wrote fic in this world.
> 
> And on the Buddie side, apparently every time I update "Darling It's Better", my brain immediately wants to write super competent SEAL!Buck.


End file.
